Music Producers at the Beehouse

Our Music Production Methods

At the Beehouse on the Powys Shropshire border, we have the combined hardware, experience and musicianship to support and complement a wide range of musical projects. The majority of backings and even whole tracks can be programmed through Cubase and midi under your supervision and guidance and then developed using superb musicianship by our music producers or a wide array of up-to-date loops and samples, VST instruments, real instruments, including drums, guitars, keyboards, string instruments and most other instruments by prior arrangement. Not only do we have a very wide range of midi sounds...orchestral, electronic etc but our equipment includes the very latest dance music technology to assist you in your musical production. In fact entire backings can be created for non- musician songwriters, leaving just the vocals to add (we even have session vocalists to hand)!

All work carried out by our midi/synth/sequencer technician is charged at a rate of £40- £60 per hour. To give additional scope and range to the sounds we supply, Beehouse normally makes use of its own trained and highly competent musicians, who are generally on hand throughout working hours at a rate of £17-£30 per hour. Where other instrumentalists are required, we can supply session musicians at varying rates.

Music Production Specialists
Philip Lane, who is our principal engineer/producer, has more than thirty years experience in the music and recording business. To quote a recent customer "He seems able to play any instrument he chooses.....,intuitively knows what rhythm and instruments to go for and seems to have an almost encyclopaedic memory for sound......a joy to work with, and his arrangements and production underline his amazing talent."

Jane Lane has now been involved in the music business for sixteen years and has produced a variety of projects, tapping into her main areas of interest - electro-pop, unique and eclectically-sourced production styles, and a strong classical training. Jane works at the root level on songwriting workshops, bringing tracks into a sound structure, and adding direction from this early stage.

The Beehouse Production Team is conversant with up to the minute styles of the last ten years, as well as the '90s, '80s, '70s, '60s...............
We also have a downloads site Noochoon where you can market your new songs and music, once developed.Production Workshop
The Beehouse offers a unique semi-professional Music Production Workshop for those who would like to put a track or tracks together in a professional studio. We can either work on existing tracks you have created elsewhere, or build a whole new track, and can offer help with instrumentation, arranging, recording, synthesized additions, effects, mixing and mastering. The Music Production Course, sometimes called the Studio Engineering Experience, costs £199.75 for five hours of one-to-one tuition and fun.

Arrangement

Arrangement is the process by which a simple song acquires an order and a recognisable form. For example, arrangement determines if it starts with a verse or a chorus, and what instrumentation it uses. In some ways this overwashes production, although production tends to be the actual implementation of the arrangement. When a score is written out, for example, this may be called an arrangement, but if the studio creates the actual track, the embellishments are referred to as "production".
Arrangement is an important phase during which you decide how your song will flow. Clearly arrangement of a sort can take place throughout the recording process, and often many versions of a song can be created, but the initial arrangement carries a great deal of power. This part of your song can be carried out in Henry's Machine Room and is less expensive as it does not require the main studio.

Pre-production

Other not inconsiderable parts of pre-production are decisions about tempo, whether a click track will be used, what instrumentation would be ideal, and whether the song or track is similar to other tracks that have been popular.
Pre-production is usually an activity undertaken by one person, although it's not impossible with two writers, or even a band, once the initial ideas are there.

Mastering

So you have your recording - DAT or other audio, but although it shows the essence of what you can do, the finer points may have been lost! At best, not everything has the impact you intended. At worst the hollow hissy sound which has been produced if you picked the wrong recording studio bears little resemblance to the quality of the original!

Whatever the problem with your music, remember that very few crude recordings bear the polish and depth of properly mastered tracks, and that audio mastering is very much the norm and hallmark of professionals and semi-professionals. DO NOT DESPAIR! Talk to us.